Telecom, soon to be Spark, has announced that it will offer residential customers Unlimited Broadband Data plans from today.

The Unlimited Broadband Data plans range across all data speeds from the basic ADSL through to Ultra Fibre, and start from $99 a month on ADSL when bundled with one of Telecom’s Ultra Mobile plans.

Telecom Retail Chief Executive Chris Quin said “we’re seeing demand for broadband data almost double year-on-year, as New Zealanders fundamentally change how they live to do more and more online. Many of our customers are now going online for everything from watching TV shows to playing games with friends to shopping to talking to family. This means for the average Kiwi data is an increasingly valued commodity.

“Over the past few years we have increased our data allowances on a regular basis to accommodate this growing demand. However, we think the time is now right for Telecom – as New Zealand’s biggest broadband provider - to offer a plan that gives customers the freedom to do everything they want to online without worrying about what their bill might be at the end of the month, and so we’re introducing our Unlimited Broadband Data plan.

“This plan comes on the back of some big strides we’ve made across our network to give our customers what they need to get on and do more in the digital space. We’ve launched free WiFi, 4G, Ultra Fibre, free Spotify – just to name a few examples.

“When we announced that we were changing our name and invited New Zealanders to tell us what they wanted Spark to be about, Unlimited Broadband Data plans were one of the most asked-for products. We see this as another crucial step in our transition to Spark – a company that will give New Zealanders access to the incredible experiences that data enables.”

Mr Quin said that given its expected popularity, Telecom may need to manage traffic on the Unlimited Broadband Data plan, particularly at peak times, to ensure the best experience possible for the greatest number of users. This traffic management would aim to prioritise time-sensitive traffic such as Skype, TV streaming or gaming.